Gelcoat Repair

[motox25]

This winter I'm going to fix a small gouge on the bottom of my 2001 Sea Doo GTX. I've never done a gelcoat repair but I've looked at some threads here and feel I can do it myself. The problem is I'm not sure what to buy, gelcote.ca has seadoo gelcote "scratch and gouge" kits which I'm sure would be sufficient but I can't seem to find my color. It's a dark, navy blue color sea doo calls "mazatlan blue" but the only blue color on the site for an 01 is an "Atlantic blue". I emailed them to see if they could send me a pic or description of the color but no reply. I see west marine carries a universal "mix til you get the color right" kit. What have you guys used and what do you recommend? I don't need it to look perfect I honestly just want to protect the exposed fiberglass. The hull is also slightly oxidized and I'm thinking of waxing it with Meguiars flagship marine wax, anybody have experience with it?

 

[Strizzo]

The problem is that fresh gelcote will fade over time, so if you mix it you have to go a couple shades darker than it is now, and let it fade to match. Problem is knowing how much different to go. Definitely go with the oem Canadian stuff if thy can get you the right color.

 

[suke]

I'd look into spectrum gel coat repair kits. Stumbled upon those the other day when looking for a cheaper alternative to the gelcote.ca ones. They got pretty good reviews.

 

[devonte007]

If you can find someone to premix and match a color for you go with that, otherwise you will need to buy some gelcoat in its virgin state (white) and some pigments to mix the color yourself. You may actually find that mixing it yourself works best. You can mix a few small batches and experiment to get the correct match for your boat Strizzo is right, you will want it a little darker than the rest of the boat because it will fade in the sun. Like you said though, it does not need to be perfect as long as it covers and protects the fiberglass.

I did my first gelcoat repair this spring and was surprised at how easy it was if you take your time. Gelcoat is very hard and thick on your boat, and forgivable. It is generally the same process as repairing a drywall gouge. Slap the glecoat in there, let it dry, sand it down and polish. Hardest part is getting the correct ratio of hardener in the gelcoat, it varies greatly depending on temperature. I mixed a few batches before I came out with a mix that allowed enough working time and that hardened correctly.

Check out this thread and post back if you have any other specific questions: http://www.seadooforum.com/showthread.php?51509-Question-on-Gel-Coat&highlight=gelcoat

Bringing back the faded gelcoat is also pretty easy, depending on how faded it is you can use some type of an abrasive compound or cleaner wax to buff it out. The worse it is, the heavier compound you will need to use. Really bad oxidation will require wet sanding before buffing to a shine. Hope this all helps some, good luck!

 

[motox25]

Ok, thank you for the info. Are there any particular abrasive cleaners you recommend?

 

[devonte007]

If you only have a very light haze then marine polish you can get at the stores will probably do, I think walmart sells some marine cleaner waxes that have their own name but are actually made by Starbrite company.

You will probably have best luck with a much heavier compound though. I know a lot of guys on this forum use 3m heavy duty compound for their boats. Here is a good thread that was recently posted, there are a lot of good helpful tips and some recommended products.
http://www.seadooforum.com/showthread.php?56634-Cutting-buffing-polishing-pad-recommendations&highlight=buffing

and another: http://www.seadooforum.com/showthread.php?48028-How-to-clean-your-sun-faded-hood-cover-w-pictures&highlight=buffing

And by the way, I got my gelcoat from Overtons, they sell a pint can for about $20 (free shipping too) and it comes with the hardener. It only comes in white, so you'll have to get the tinting pigments elsewhere.
--Deven